10 Best Shooting Glasses – Which One Should You Get?

Do you need a little bit more visual clarity when target shooting or hunting? Are you aware that eye injuries are all too common when handling firearms? Shooting glasses can actually help with both of these issues, but selecting the best shooting glasses can be difficult if you don’t know what to look for.

The best among the 10 models we reviewed are the Wiley-X Saber Advanced. They offer both visual clarity in various lighting situations to make you see better and be more accurate, but they also offer the best protection from various types of dangers present to your eyes while giving you a comfortable fit and plenty of value for each dollar you spend.

Your own preferences will certainly make a difference in selecting the right one for you, so before we dig into our review, let’s examine what to look for in a pair.

How to Choose The Perfect Model?

Because spent brass or other airborne hazards associated with the firing of your weapon can easily find their way into your eyes, the first priority in finding the best one is related to protection. The extent of protection depends largely upon what activity you are engaged in with your firearm. Different types of eye protection are necessary for different activities.

Types of Eye Protection

There are three basic types of eye protection:

• Shooting goggles. Shooting goggles are similar to what you wear for skiing, covering the entire area in front and around your eyes and typically create a barrier with the surrounding skin.• Shooting glasses. They are large framed mo delswith specially designed lenses suitable for protection.• Glasses with extra side protection. These are similar to “wrap-around” eye wears and offer additional side protection often lacking in eye protection for shooting .

Eye Protection Lenses

Obviously, the material used for eye protection lenses must provide protection rather than shattering and sending fragments from the lenses into your eyes. There are safety standards and material standards that must be met for polycarbonate lenses. There are three different standard ratings:

• ANSI. American National Standards Institute outline the minimum impact resistance for all types of safety eye wear.• OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health Administration not only outlines minimum impact resistance standards, but also side impact standards as well.• Military. The ballistic models standards of the military include a higher level protection including the ability to resist .15 caliber or .22 caliber bullets without losing their protective capacity.

Lens Colors

When considered against lens quality, color seems a great deal less important, but in many cases it is equally important when it comes to clear vision in various lighting conditions. Not being able to see properly can make eye protection glasses a hindrance as much as a help. Here are some of the colors of lenses:

• Smoke. This is a neutral color choice which blocks glare without altering color perception.• Amber. Helps with contrast and depth perception under cloudy, dusk or dawn conditions.• Yellow. Improves contrast in low-light conditions, but to a greater degree than amber.• Purple. Reduces glare and allows you to pick up a bright target better if there is a bad background.

Other Considerations

Besides providing protection and better visual clarity while shooting, there are some other considerations to keep in mind. Here are those considerations:

• Lens Size. When comparing, lens size becomes important because peripheral vision can either be obscured or enhanced by the size of the lens and what is blocked by the frame on the sides.• Thermal Lens. A thermal lens is actually two lenses with an airspace or insulation space between them. These lenses tend to resist fogging and keep you vision clear under all conditions.• Weight. If you are going to wear your eye protection all day, then weight becomes a major comfort factor. Get the most protection for the least amount of weight.• Fit. If you are constantly readjusting your eye protection, you will not perform at your best and are much more likely to take them off or leave them behind. Get a pair that fits right and can be ignored. Keep in mind that these models might have to fit over prescription eye wear as well.• UV Protection. UV protection is another form of eye protection that needs to be taken into consideration if you are going to be using it outdoors, as your eyes can also be severely damaged by the sun.• Ventilation. Part of the comfort and fit of a pair of it has to do with whether or not there is sufficient ventilation. Ventilation also helps with clearing fog from lenses as well.

With these considerations for how to choose the best eye protection for shooting in mind, let’s take a more in-depth look at 10 top on the market.

Top Shooting Glasses Review

PROS

Light weight

Attractive

Lots of extras

Great UV protection

CONS

Not rated for hunting or any eye protection standards other than UV

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No side protection

BLUPOND Sport for Men/Women

BLUPOND Sports are designed for sports eye protection. They feature anti-fog, polarized lenses in a variety of colors. They are lightweight, fit comfortably and have a UV 400 protection value and have a stylish, frameless, Italian design.

Specs:

These will protect your eyes from flying debris when you are shooting. The wide selection of colors allows you to choose lenses which will fit pretty much every lighting condition. They do have wrap-around protection lenses which won’t block peripheral vision and they are reasonable priced to be able to buy two or three different colors.

PROS

ANSI and CSA rated

Adequate UV protection

Full wrap-around protection without losing peripheral vision

Fit over prescription model

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Solid name in firearms protection manufacturing

CONS

They should go for a higher rating on the lenses

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Are not anti-fog lenses

Howard Leight by Honeywell Vapor II

A full range of vision and protection comes from this pair of Howard Leight. They come in a selection of three colors, are ANSI (high impact) rated, provide UV protection and have lightweight nylon frames.

UV Blacklight by iLumen8

Ultraviolet night vision which works really well with a black light is the selling feature for the BEST iLumen8. They are attractive and stylish featuring ANSI rating, UV protection, are light weight and durable.

Specs:

You are supposed to be impressed by the ultraviolet properties of these lenses, which can allow you to see urine under a black light. Do you really care? They are probably fine as eye protection for shooting . They will protect you from front and side impact and the yellow lenses will work well in most lights. You would get the same protection from the Radians above and be able to buy 3 of them for the same price as these.

PROS

ANSI safety rated

100% UV protection

Can be worn over prescription eye wear

Ventilated, polycarbon side frame protection

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Decent price

CONS

Best suited for those who wear prescription glasses

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A little on the heavy side

Allen Over

The Allen Over Shooting & Safety eye wear were designed to fit over prescription eye wear. They come with a variety of lens color choices for indoor or outdoor use, have full UV protection, ANSI impact resistance protection on both lenses and side frames.

You probably saw some similar models on your high school shop teacher. If you need one to fit over you prescription glasses, then these are about as good as you are going to get. They aren’t as stylish as some of the others, but being able to wear your prescription eye wear comfortably under them is why you are buying them.

PROS

ANSI rated

Multiple lighting situations

Wrap-around impact and UV protection

Truly lightweight

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Decent price for three pair

CONS

They seem a little too light on construction to be anti-fog

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Can’t wear prescription under these

Peltor Sport SecureFit 400

With impact resistant and anti-fog lenses in these Peltor Sport SecureFit, you can get the necessary protection for your eyes when you are shooting. This is a three pack of full, wrap-around glasses with different colored lenses for any type of lighting situation. These models are truly lightweight and provide full UV protection as well.

Ducks Unlimited Eyewear Kit

Ducks Unlimited got into the action with this kit of five colored anti-fog model. These models feature a durable frame into which five different lenses can be inserted. They go beyond typical ANSI standards for safety, features an adjustable nose piece and they work well in any type of lighting.

It is a great concept to be able to switch out lens colors, but one has to wonder how well that is going to work. The wrap-around lenses and wide selection of lenses are certainly pluses as is its higher safety rating, but there is no UV protection rating and a lot of unanswered questions about these eye wears.

PROS

ANSI rated

Wrap-around lens

UV protection

Light weight

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Budget priced

CONS

Won’t fit over prescription eye wear

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No color and light variation properties

Caldwell

Basic and straight to the point, these clear, Caldwell are designed to provide eye protection why you shoot. They are light weight, impact resistant, protect from UV rays and have adjustable nose and ear pieces.

Specs:

These are simple models. They don’t go overboard on any feature and are not under-designed either. You get a basic set of eye protection for shooting and they are priced so that you can have 3 or 4 pair around whenever and wherever you need them.

PROS

Pink is popular with ladies

Wrap-around lens and partial frame offers some side protection

Stylish

CONS

Useless for either impact or UV eye protection

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And they are heavy too

Mossy Oak Hunting

Designed for ladies who like to shoot, the Pink Mossy Oak Hunting eye wear have a feminine design as well as a pretty shade of pink in the lenses. They have wrap-around frames and are made of high quality materials.

Specs:

If you are trying to get rid of your wife, girlfriend or mother-in-law, or make them blind, then these are the perfect model to put on them. These are not eye protection glasses for shooting. They are not ANSI rated and don’t even provide UV protection. Mossy Oak should be ashamed of themselves for putting these out for sale.

These eye wear truly provide the necessary safety for your eyes under the worst conditions. Where most of us will never have to worry about shrapnel or bullets flying at us, there is always the possibility of a sheered primer or a ricochet. Wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry. With this pack you get the right colors for varying light conditions and protection from UV radiation as well.

Our Opinion

BLUPOND Sport for Men/Women

When it comes to protecting your eyes when you are shooting, does it really make sense to go with anything less than the best?

Given our above guide and reviews of the various protective glasses, there is a very clear winner in our line up; the Wiley-X Saber Advanced.

The Wiley-X Saber Advanced have full military, ballistic protection, which is far beyond the ANSI and OSHA ratings.

They protect you from the front and side without limiting peripheral vision and this package comes with three different pairs of varying colors to accommodate different light conditions.

Though you might feel the need to have the most advanced eye protection available when you shoot, having some eye protection with a minimum ANSI rating is essential. If you want to shoot without eye protection, don’t fire your weapon another time without buying some form of rated eye protection.

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